Lahore, June 10 (IANS) Sahibzada Farhan will captain the Pakistan at the Asian Games 2026, scheduled from September 19 to October 4 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan as the Pakistan Cricket Board announced a 15-man squad on Wednesday.

Farhan, 30, has appeared in 46 T20Is for Pakistan, accumulating 1,305 runs with two centuries and 10 half-centuries. Abdul Samad, with five T20I appearances for Pakistan, has been appointed vice-captain of the team.

Of the 15 players in the squad, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat, and Saad Masood are the four who have not yet played T20I for Pakistan.

Furthermore, 14 out of the 15 players chosen for the Asian Games squad are members of the National Cricket Academy’s White-Ball Camp, which will begin in Lahore on Monday, June 15 and continue until June 18.

The cricket competition at the continental event will be played in a T20 format, featuring 10 teams at Korogi Athletic Park in Aichi Prefecture.

The men’s cricket tournament starts on September 24, with medal matches happening on October 3.

The PCB announced that 49 players will participate in the NCA’s Red-Ball and White-Ball camps. These camps are designed to prepare players for upcoming international and domestic competitions. Throughout the camps, players will train under the guidance of National and NCA coaches, as well as PCB Medical staff, focusing on skill development and fitness.

Additionally, each player will have individual sessions with coaches to deepen their understanding of the skills and fitness standards required at the international level.

Pakistan squad for Asian Games: Sahibzada Farhan (c), Abdul Samad (vc), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan (wk)

–IANS

vi/bc